Love Thy Neighbor
by AandE-B26
Summary: Aria Montgomery's life is not going as planned. She's 19, living with her parents and going to Hollis. She just got back from Iceland and things look bleak. That's until she meets her neighbor, Ezra Fitz and sparks fly. Will their age difference be a problem? And is there more to Mr Fitz than meets the eye?
1. Everything has changed

**A/N:** This is an AU story about Ezra and Aria. Aria and her family move back after being in Iceland for 3 years. Aria finds out her new neighbor is none other than Ezra Fitz. They're soul mates, so it's just about time before they get pulled to each other. I will probably make this a multi-fic, if anyone reads it of course. I hope you enjoy my random idea :)

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The Montgomery's had finally returned from Iceland. They were supposed to be gone for a year, but had been away for 3 years. Aria changed a lot during those three years, she ditched the pink highlights and swapped it for a more mature looking brown color . Her clothes still had an edge to it, she was an artistic girl after all and that wasn't going to change. The last time she was in Rosewood, Ali had gone missing and everything changed.

She had lost contact with Emily, Hanna and Spencer. She blamed the distance between them for that, but she knew that after Ali disappeared their friendships had changed. She was sure Spencer was off at UPenn like she had always dreamed of. Emily had to be at some college with a scholarship for swimming and she imagined Hanna would be somewhere in New York studying fashion. They were all doing amazing things and she was here about to enroll into Hollis College, in their hometown.

Her life didn't exactly follow her original plan. She wanted to go to NYU, but there had been a mix up with her transcript from the English high school she attended in Iceland and that didn't happen. It disappointed her greatly, but she would just have to figure things out. She was staying with her parents because they had come back a day too late for Aria to live on campus. Once again it wasn't part of her original plan.

"Aria, can you go get my Starbucks drink from the car?" Ella asked as she stood in front of a myriad of boxes that had taken up space in their living room.

"I'm on my way."

She didn't know why her mother would leave her Frappucino in the car, but she decided to be a nice daughter and help her out. The guilt of keeping the Meredith secret from her mother for 3 years made things difficult, but she always found herself trying to help her mother out.

Aria was wearing a purple dress paired with a black leather jacket and she had black high heeled boots on. She opened the front door and made her way to the car.

That was when she noticed a young man taking something out of the trunk of his car. He was about 5'11 with black hair and he had the perfect form. She bit down on her lip, she didn't remember having a neighbor like that 3 years ago. He had to have been new.

He turned around almost as if he noticed Aria staring at him. She quickly opened the door of Ella's car and retrieved the frappucino. She got out of the car and instinctively turned her head around to face the handsome guy who was now staring at her. They stayed like that for a few seconds. Aria shut the door and blushed slightly. She quickly turned on her heel, making her way back into the house. She shut the door and stood against it._ Smooth, Aria, real smooth._

Ella walked over to where Aria was standing and looked at her daughter curiously.

"What happened to you?"

Aria shrugged as she strolled past Ella and handed her the drink, "Nothing? I just got your drink."

Ella arched an eyebrow. "You're blushing."

She laughed and shook her head. "It's really hot out there, I wasn't blushing. Uh did you know that somebody else moved into the Jefferson's place?"

"Yes, your father saw him this morning. It seems like a lot has changed in Rosewood."

"Do you know who he is?" She asked.

"I know that he's too old for you.."

Aria rolled her eyes at her mother. "I was just asking a question.."

"I'm sure you were. Now why don't you help me with lunch?"

Ezra noticed that the empty house opposite of his was not so empty anymore. He had seen the moving van pull up in the driveway yesterday before he left to teach at Hollis College. He heard that they were the Montgomery family who had just returned from Iceland. The one thing he wasn't expecting was the girl he saw earlier. She was tiny, brunette and very pretty. He shook his head thinking about her, she was probably in high school, or worse middle school. What was his problem? Loneliness was getting to him. Jackie was to blame for that. He blamed Jackie for everything. He bought the big house in a family friendly neighborhood thinking that he was preparing for a future that had Jackie in it. He was 25, but had been with Jackie since freshmen year of college.

"I'm sorry this didn't work out, Ezra." She said casually like she was sorry she had to cancel a date, not that she had given up on their future together. He was sure she wasn't sorry about that.

He stood by the kitchen counter and poured himself a glass of scotch.

"Just get your things and leave," he said coldly.

"Ezra, don't be that way. You'll find someone who wants the same things as you."

He took a sip of the scotch and let it burn his throat. He didn't want to have this conversation with her, not when he was convinced she had wanted the same things as him. He laughed bitterly and didn't respond.

He watched as she took the last of her things, packed them into a box and made her way to the door.

"Goodbye," Ezra said.

"Bye Z," she said softly, calling him by his old nickname and then walked out of the door.

He was a hopeless romantic, but he was realizing that things never worked out the way he wanted them to. First it was Maggie and now Jackie was gone. He was seeing a pattern, one where he ended up alone with alcohol for comfort.

_**One month later**_

To Aria's surprise, Hanna was still in Rosewood. They had a class together at Hollis and started talking again. Their friendship was slowly being restored. Hanna had lost a lot of weight and she looked amazing. Aria was glad to have at least one friend nearby. Halloween was fast approaching and the two girls decided to go shopping for costumes.

Aria and Hanna decided to take Hanna's niece, Ariel, trick or treating in Aria's neighborhood. They were going to a party later, but Hanna wanted to do something special for her niece and Aria decided it was a good way to kill time before the party.

"I want to wear something sexy," Aria mused as she looked at the costumes on the rack. _Sexy Nurse, Catwoman, Sexy Witch_ - it was all so cliche.

"Ooh Aria who are you trying to impress?" Hanna teased as she eyed a Marilyn Monroe costume.

Aria smirked a little as she came across a Daisy Buchanan costume, "we need to take Ariel to this one guy's house.." She said mysteriously.

"Aria, what guy?" Hanna questioned, she was curious now.

"I don't know if you noticed, but the guy who lives opposite of me is really hot." She said, glad she could finally admit that to someone.

It wasn't just that he was hot, but Aria felt like she needed to know him. It was like a magnetic pull and she was just going along with it.

"I might have seen him once. He's cute. Okay so you need to dress up very sexy and talk to him. You have to do it Aria. I mean I haven't heard you talk about any other guys other than that Iceland guy and he's like a zillion miles away."

Aria stopped looking at the costumes and looked at Hanna. "He broke my heart, let's not go there. That's my plan, but he seems like an intellectual type, so nothing like that," she said pointing at the Marilyn Monroe costume that was now in her hands.

"He's a guy Aria, sex appeal turns them on, but how about you use that dress with a push up bra," she said pointing at the Daisy Buchanan costume that consisted of a greenish colored flapper dress and a head piece.

The Great Gatsby was one of Aria's favorite books. She eyed the costume and smiled. "I think you're right Han, that one will be perfect."

Aria was sitting outside on the porch. She had a blanket wrapped around her and she was reading "The Great Gatsby". She heard a car pull up into the driveway and realized it was him. He got of of his silver car and turned to look at who was sitting outside on the porch. It looked like the daughter of the family who moved back from Iceland. He had seen her around a lot lately, taking walks around the neighborhood, sitting and reading on the porch until she would shiver and then he'd watch her go back in. He was definitely intrigued by her, but he wouldn't act upon it because she was clearly underage and he didn't want to lose his job, or get arrested.

"Hey!" He heard a voice call out to him.

"Uh hey." He responded and gave her a shy, grin.

He turned around to lock his car. When he looked back he noticed that the girl was gone and he was disappointed. _Stop_ was all he could tell himself, but then again he always wrestled between doing what he wanted and the right thing. Sometimes what he wanted overtook reason.

Aria walked up to her room, she had a smile on her face as she sat down at her laptop and quickly sent Hanna a message on Facebook.

_Han, I finally said hi to him. He was all cute about it and he smiled. I can't wait to put my plan into action_.

As she was scrolling through the newsfeed on Facebook, she saw a picture of the guy in Iceland who she really liked and dated for like 5 minutes with his new girlfriend. He never wanted to be serious with Aria, but from what she had heard before she left, he was madly in love with his new girl. Of course he would move on. Would she ever be anyone's first choice? Would anyone want the same things she wanted? It was then that she realized life wasn't always romantic and it was unfortunate because she was a hopeless romantic. If only there was someone who was similar to her in that aspect.

Halloween arrived, it was safe to say that Aria was excited. Maybe even more excited than little 3 year old Ariel who was dressed up like Cinderella. Hanna was dressed up as Marilyn Monroe, she looked beautiful as she stood on Aria's porch, looking around.

"Aria, let's get going?" She gave Aria a nudge as she craned her neck towards the handsome guy's house.

Aria laughed a little and felt her heart race.

"How about we start on this side and then work our way over there?"

"Coward." Hanna teased.

"I want candy!" Ariel shouted.

Hanna took her hand and the three of them walked around the neighborhood watching Ariel get candy from everyone. There were kids dressed up as superheroes, vampires, zombies and princesses. Finally they ended up on the side of the street Aria was nervously waiting for. She felt chilled to the bone in her flapper dress, but she was determined to get to know him.

"Good luck," Hanna whispered to Aria.

She nodded her head as she held Ariel's hand and walked up the steps. Ariel rang the doorbell and Aria felt like she was in some fantasy world. You can do this. Her hair was pinned back and she had used a decent amount of make up. She looked breathtaking.

He opened the door, his eyes opened wide, he took a step back and then quickly regained his composure.

"Trick or treat!" Ariel said cutely.

He took out a bowl of candy and held it in front of Ariel.

"Are you a princess?" He asked, trying to look at Ariel while his eyes kept wandering over to Aria.

"Yes!" She took a handful of candy.

"Do you want some?" He asked Aria.

She looked up into his blue eyes. He had beautiful eyes.

"I think I'm too old for that, but sure."

He thinks I'm a child..

He looked at her curiously when she said that and Aria took a piece of candy from him.

"What's your name?" She asked him.

"Ezra and yours?"

"Aria, my name is Aria."

He looked at her and gave her a smile. He had the most handsome smile she had ever seen.

"It's nice to meet you Aria." He said sweetly.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ezra."

**A/N**: Keep in mind Ezra thinks Aria is a lot younger than she really is, but once he finds out .. well you get the point ;)


	2. I was enchanted to meet you

A/N: Thank you to everyone who sent me reviews! I didn't think anyone would read this fanfic. As for Ezra being Aria's professor, you will have to wait and see what happens ;) Thank-you so much for reading this!

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_Big hazel eyes, soft looking lips, Ari_a - that was all Ezra could think about recently. When he opened the door he was expecting another costumed kid, but Aria was not what he was expecting. It was a pleasant surprise. She was dressed up and taking a kid trick- or -treating, but was she basically a child herself? She had been cryptic and he wondered what she meant by "I'm a little too old for that." when he offered her some candy. Could it be that she was older than he thought she was? He hoped so because he wanted to know her.

"Ezra, where the hell did you go man?" Hardy asked.

They were sitting at a bar like they always did on Fridays.

"Just thinking. Girls can look younger than they are, right?" He asked randomly.

Hardy looked at him skeptically.

"Where did that come from?"

"There's this girl.. she looks really young, but maybe she's older."He rambled.

"Huh? Dude don't go there. That road leads to a prison cell."

Ezra sighed, he was being ridiculous. This break up with Jackie was making him lose his mind, but there was something about Aria he couldn't shake. He picked up his beer bottle and took a sip from it.

Aria sighed as she laid down on her bed. It had been a few days after Halloween and she was thinking back to what happened with Ezra. He was friendly enough, but it didn't seem like he wanted to make a move to know her. He did treat her like she was just a kid. It was almost like he didn't know what to do, he seemed confused and taken by surprise. She looked up at the ceiling. As much as she wanted to know him, she decided to just forget about it.

_Ezra would have made a move if he was interested and he didn't, so I guess that's it. I did something bold, so there's that._

As the weeks went by, Aria threw herself into college. She was looking forward to next semester when she would get to take a literature class, she had heard that the professor was young and had a real passion for literature. Hanna started getting busy because of Caleb, the two were always sneaking off together. Aria was glad that her best friend found happiness, but she was really starting to miss hanging out with her. She had decided to reconnect with Spencer over Facebook and they had been messaging each other everyday. Spencer was with Toby and from what Aria could see they were having the time of their lives together. Toby had moved close to her university, so they could be together.

It seemed like all her friends were in love. It was like they found their soul mates and Aria somehow got left behind. It wasn't like she didn't feel happy for them because she did, but she felt like something was missing.

Before Aria knew it her family was already getting ready for Christmas. Ella was decorating the tree and Aria was helping her.

"You haven't gone out in a while." Ella said casually.

Aria shrugged. "Hanna's busy with Caleb."

"Is there anyone you should be busy with?" Ella asked.

"No, all the guys I've met so far have been immature.."

"I worry about you Aria."

She took some tinsel and wrapped it around the tree, even her mother was concerned about her lack of a love life. It wasn't like she had no choice. If she wanted to she could find someone else, but she wasn't interested in the guys at college.

"Mom, I'm fine. I'll find someone eventually."

Ella put the star on the tree, "I think it's time for some coffee" she then walked over to the kitchen. Aria followed her. "Make some for me too?"

Ella noticed a silver car pull up into the driveway that was opposite of them. She knew her daughter had a crush on Ezra, their neighbor. She wasn't too fond of that apparent age difference, but she knew Aria needed a little push.

"Look it's Ezra." Ella, watching for Aria's reaction.

Aria looked out the window and saw Ezra. It looked like he just came back from work, he was wearing a white shirt and black pants. Why did he have to be so good looking? It wasn't fair.

_Knock. Knock._

"Why don't you get the door, Aria?"

"Mom, Ezra is there.."

"Exactly, go get the door." Ella said with a smirk.

Aria took a deep breath and walked to the door. She opened the door, but nobody was there. She looked around and saw some person walking off into the distance. Then she saw Ezra staring at her. He was by his door and he was just staring at her like time had stopped. She looked directly at him and then shut the door behind her.

"Go talk to him." Ella said.

"Mom, I can't just go talk to him. That's awkward."

"Go get my purse from the car and make some conversation," she handed Aria the keys to the car.

"No this is crazy," Aria said taking a step back from the door.

"Aria, don't be an idiot. Go!" Ella scolded.

She couldn't believe her mother was encouraging her to do this. Didn't she decide that she wouldn't go after Ezra? She took a deep breath as she opened the door and walked out to the car.

"Hey Ezra," she called out, trying to sound casual.

Ezra turned around and looked at Aria, who was standing by her mother's car. She was wearing jeans and a black sweater. It was now, or never. Logic told him it was wrong.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

Aria opened the car door and took out Ella's small purse. "I'm good, what about you?" She asked.

"I'm good too. Are you ready for Christmas?" He asked.

Aria looked away from him. She seemed sad.

"Not really. I don't feel like it's Christmas," she said honestly.

"And why is that?".

Aria shut the car door. She then made her way over to where he was standing. Ezra felt like this was all a dream.

"Sorry, I didn't feel like yelling from across the street. I expected to spend Christmas with my grandparents this year after 3 years of not seeing them because I was in Iceland, but that's not going to happen this year. It just doesn't feel like Christmas without them" She said sadly.

"I'm sorry about that. That must be tough."

"Thanks. You know if you ever have the time we should hang out or something."

Ezra knew this was getting tricky, but first he needed to know something.

"Are you in high school?" He asked.

Aria looked up into his blue eyes and shook her head.

"No, I'm 19. I'm in college. How old are you?"

Ezra tried not to act too relieved, but he was glad to know that she wasn't under age. She was still young, but it was better than what he first thought.

"I'm 25...Do you want to come in?" He asked her.

Aria looked at him, giving him a sweet, sexy smile.

"Uh yes."

_What are you doing, Ezra?_

He opened the door and waited for her to get in. Aria stood in front of him and looked around. If only Jackie could see him now. He had a very beautiful girl standing in his house, he was proud of that fact.

"So what kind of job do you have?" Aria asked curiously.

He walked with her to his lounge. "I'm a professor."

Aria nodded her head and smiled. "That's cool, Ezra."

"I'll be right back I need to get changed, but here," he gave her the remote control "you can watch something till then if you want."

Aria looked at him, took the remote control and took a seat on his brown leather couch. She gave Ezra a smile which he returned and then disappeared upstairs.

Aria was not expecting him to act interested in her, or ask her to come in. She was sure this was a dream, except this was reality and surpassed every expectation she ever had. Her mind was racing with thoughts. What was she doing? She didn't even know him that well. He could be some crazy person, but she felt strangely comfortable. It was like this was meant to happen. She noticed a bookshelf next to her. She scanned it for a second and noticed "The Great Gatsby" and "A Farewell to Arms". She instantly smiled. What were the chances that he was into the same type of books she was into? They had something in common.

Ezra walked back to where Aria was. He looked more comfortable now with jeans and a grey hoodie. He looked a bit younger now than he was a few minutes ago in his professor attire.

"Hey, so you're into Fitzgerald and Hemingway?" She asked.

Ezra looked at the bookshelf and then back at Aria.

"Yeah I am. I actually teach Literature. Do you like them too?" He asked, he was definitely curious now.

_Beautiful and into Fitzgerald and Hemingway? Who was this girl?_

"I love them. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books. You teach literature? That's really amazing, Ezra." Aria said.

"It's one of my favorites too. If you don't mind, I have a few gifts to wrap."

"Do you want me to help you?" She asked.

Jackie would have never offered to help. She'd make some excuse for that. She always had excuses.

"That would be good, thanks," He walked over to where he had the gift wrapping paper, tape and scissors. He brought them over to Aria and laid them into the coffee table. He then disappeared and came back with a box of gifts.

"Who are all these gifts for?"

"My family. I'm heading to New York soon." He said with a smile.

"That's sweet." She said.

Ezra and Aria got busy wrapping the gifts. Aria was so nervous, she could barely cut the wrapping paper and was trying her best to make everything look neat.

"I think my helping is giving you more work," she said shyly.

Ezra gave her a shy grin and laughed a little, "It's fine, people just rip the wrapping paper up anyways. It doesn't matter."

She looked at him and smiled a little. "I guess you're right. You seem to be good at this."

"Let me help," he said as he reached over to her and folded the wrapping paper. "Okay place the tape over this."

Aria's fingers brushed against Ezra's as he placed the tape onto the wrapping paper. She thought being hyper sensitive over a simple touch only happened in romance novels.

"Do you remember what my name is?" Aria asked.

She wanted to know if he had remembered her name because if he did then it meant he was thinking about her.

"It starts with an A… your name is Aria." He said confidently.

Aria looked very surprised. She wasn't expecting him to remember her name.

"I didn't think you'd remember."

"I thought you were younger, but I kept thinking about what you said on Halloween, I'm a little too old for that. I kept trying to figure out what you meant by that. "

"I had a feeling you thought that, so that's why I said it. Did you think I was 17, or something?"

Ezra looked at her sheepishly

Aria's eyes widened. "16? 15? … 14?"

Ezra looked at her when she said 14 and she laughed a little.

"Really?"

He nodded his head.

"I'd like to know more about you, Aria."

"Yeah, I'd like to know more about you too."

They looked into each other's eyes in a cute and shy way.

"You said you came back from Iceland, I've actually been there. It's interesting."

"You have? Where else have you been to?" She asked.

"I've been to Italy."

Aria's eyes widened and she smiled. "I've always wanted to go there, it's a dream of mine actually."

Ezra gave her a curious look. Where had she been all this time?

"You should go, it's a great place. Is there anywhere else you'd like to go?"

"I want to go everywhere really even remote places in Asia. I just want to travel and see the world." Aria said dreamily.

Ezra wished he could do that, but he had responsibilities now. He wished he could be Aria's age again and do whatever he wanted.

"Asia? I'd like to travel too, but I don't think I can afford that right now."

"Well if you ever can then you should just do it."

He looked at Aria, she seemed to believe that anything was possible. A girl like her wasn't going to stay in Rosewood for too long, he was sure of it.

"I'll definitely consider it. Next question, what's your favorite food?"

"Vegan food."

"You're vegan? But be more specific."

"Uh French Vegan food?" She said and laughed a little.

"I have never had French vegan food before. Favorite color?"

Aria wondered why he was asking her so many questions, but this was going way better than she had hoped.

"Red and yours?"

"Silver."

"Like your car," she observed.

He gave her a cute smile and nodded his head. "What are you majoring in?"

"Uh I'm leaning towards English, I think I'd like to teach." She mused  
"Teaching is good, trust me I should know."

"I mean I write too, but mostly personal stuff."

Now he was interested.  
"I write too. What do you write about?"

"Love mostly, or more like how love doesn't work out."

It surprised him that someone who seemed optimistic like Aria would write about the darker side of love.

"That sounds like the story of my life."

Aria noticed that Ezra looked a bit sad and distant now. "Why do you say that?"

"My girlfriend broke up with me recently, but it's happened before with someone else too," he said honestly.

"That's stupid, I mean you seem to be amazing to me."

Ezra didn't know how to react to her comment, all he did was smile and look at her. He wondered if she had meant to say that.

"So do you want a tour of the house?" Ezra asked, trying to change the subject.

"Sure that will be good. Uh, Ezra .. how long were you with your ex for?"

"6 years.."

Aria instantly freaked out. She had never been in a serious relationship before and knowing Ezra had been with someone for that long shocked her.

"Oh my god, that's a really long time!"

Ezra noticed Aria's sudden reaction to it. "I mean it was on and off a lot, so it didn't feel that long." He said, trying to lessen the impact of that confession.

Aria relaxed a little hearing that. She followed Ezra upstairs and he led her to his room. "Well this is my room." He said as he stood in the center of it.

Aria stood by the door and took a peek inside Ezra's room. It was very neat and orderly with a black duvet on the bed. A book on the bedside table and the curtains by the window were a maroon shade.

Ezra watched Aria stand shyly by the door. She was cute, innocent even, but he also knew there was a boldness to her, so he waited for her. On cue, Aria walked up to him.

"I like your room," she commented as she proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck.

Ezra was taken back, but he encircled his arms around her waist. Trapping her body against his. Before they knew it, Ezra had crushed his lips against Aria's and she was kissing him hungrily. It was safe to say neither of them were planning for such a normal night to turn out to be so extraordinary.

"Where is Aria?" Byron Montgomery asked.

He noticed that it was 8 pm and Aria wasn't back. He knew that Ella told him she had gone over to their neighbor's house, but he didn't like it.

"She's still over at Ezra's," Ella explained as she took a sip from her cup of coffee.

"I'm going to tell her to come home," Byron said sounding angry.

"Byron, she's not a child anymore. Let her make her own decisions."

"He's too old for her, Ella."

"Aria is still with that guy?" Mike asked.

Ella sighed. "Yes she is, stop worrying about her so much. She will be home soon."

Ezra and Aria had made their way back downstairs and she decided to stay a bit and watch tv with him. She had lost track of the time. "Hey what's the time?" She asked.

Ezra pressed a button on the remote and the time appeared on the screen. She had been there for two hours.

"I think I have to go," she said sounding reluctant.

Ezra looked a bit disappointed.

"Will you get into trouble?" He asked curiously.

She shook her head. "No I'm 19, they can't really do anything, but they worry you know?"

He nodded his head. The Montgomerys seemed like a close family, he could understand that.

"I completely understand. I wouldn't have wanted you to get into trouble because of me."

"Ezra, I'm 19, I can't get into trouble." She said teasingly.

He smiled at her and she smiled back at him. They both stood up and walked towards the door.

"I had fun tonight Ezra, we should do it again sometime," she said.

He thought back to the kiss they shared and smiled a very cute, blushing kind of smile.

"I'll be back after the New Year." He explained.

She nodded her head. "I'll see you then and I'll add you onto Facebook."

"Goodnight Aria."

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, smiled at him and then walked out the door. She always thought the lyrics to Enchanted by Taylor Swift didn't make sense, but she was literally blushing all the way home.


	3. All Too Well

A/N: Thank you to everyone who left reviews! You're all so amazing :) Sorry for not updating sooner, I got busy! So this chapter is angsty for Ezra and Aria. Just warning you now!

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Aria knew she shouldn't let herself get carried away. She knew that being crazy over someone you just got to know was a bad idea. However what Aria knew and what she felt were two different things entirely. Ezra turned out to be better than she had ever hoped for him to be. She always thought things like that only happened in movies. For once her life felt exciting and thrilling.

The only problem was that Ezra hadn't made any effort to contact her since they last talked. He had to have been busy during the holiday season, she had told herself that over and over again, so that she wouldn't lose her mind. There were so many possibilities - what if he didn't like her? Was there someone else? She groaned. Her thoughts were so consuming. That's what she got for being a wannabe writer. Why couldn't she be more like Spencer? She always seemed to know what the right time was for everything. Or why couldn't she be a bit carefree like Hanna? She never heard Hanna constantly worrying about Caleb when they first met.

Aria walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen. She had slept in till 12 today. She was still on winter break and sleep helped her keep her mind off things.

"Ezra's back" Ella commented as she poured coffee into a mug.

Aria smiled a little bit as she opened the fridge looking for something to eat. "Oh he is?" She said trying not to sound too happy about that.

"I saw him this morning. Did you ever hear from him while he was away?"

Aria gave up on looking for food. She suddenly lost her appetite.

"No. I didn't hear from him."

"Maybe it's best not to have high expectations.." Ella said with caution.

"I don't have any high expectations." Aria said, not really believing herself.

"I don't want you to get hurt."

Aria couldn't have this conversation with her mother right now. She was already doubting everything. She didn't need Ella making it worse, "I'm being careful."

Ezra had planned on making contact with Aria. He had been waiting to see her again because he wanted to make sure it wasn't just a dream. He was sitting on his couch with a beer bottle in his hand watching an old movie. His mind wandered back to his conversation with Hardy over New Years.

_Ezra finished telling Hardy all about his night with Aria. He had drank a few beers and had maybe over shared. He was expecting Hardy to be excited for him, but he just seemed weirded out._

_"What's with that face, man?" Ezra asked._

_"This is a big mistake. Do you remember what we were like at 19? That girl is only thinking about now and you need to think about later, Fitz. It'll just be a burden and I bet she doesn't even know how to file her own taxes. It's like you'll always have to take care of her. You're just rebounding from Jackie, man" Hardy said honestly as he took a swig from his beer._

_Ezra shook his head. He wasn't thinking about any of that, but Hardy was right. How could he have possibly thought things could work out with Aria? She was 19. He should have known better._

_"You're right Hardy. I'm making a huge mistake. I'll stay away from her.."_

_"And don't forget the other reason… the one that begins with an A.."_

_Ezra avoided looking at Hardy because he didn't know if he could stay away, but he'd have to try. Nobody would ever take him seriously if he was with a teenager and he couldn't jeopardize what he had been working on for so long._

__

Ezra's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. He paused the movie, placed his beer bottle down and reluctantly walked to the door. He wondered who had decided to bother his quiet time. He opened the door without bothering to check who it was and was surprised to see Aria standing in front of him. He had forgotten how attractive she was.

"Hey.." he said sounding a bit distant, but he offered her a smile.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," she said sweetly.

"I'm good. I'm just really busy with work stuff."

"Busy huh? I thought I was going to hear from you.." she said and then avoided looking him in the eye.

"I was just busy Aria. It's nothing personal. I just don't really have time for anything.."

He saw anger flash in her hazel eyes. He had never seen that before.

"So you don't even want to know me, Ezra?" She asked sounding angry and sad.

"Aria, this is my life. It's not you, it's me. I'm always busy."

"Oh it's not you, it's me? Really Ezra?"

He didn't understand why she was being so over dramatic about everything. This definitely wasn't the girl he had that amazing night with. He shrugged his shoulders and tried not to enrage her any further, but he needed to stay away from her. He couldn't afford to make one more stupid relationship decision.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't right. Goodbye Aria."

She looked up into his blue eyes with an angry look. She shook her head, turned around and headed back to her house. He shut the door and shook his head. _What the hell was that?_

Her phone beeped in her pocket once she got inside. She rolled her eyes as she took it out and read the text message.

**Poor Aria, shunned by the neighbor. It's like the boy from Iceland and Noel all over again.**

**-A**

Aria slowly looked up from the text with a terrified look on her face. "Allison?" She whispered.

Not only did Aria have to face the fact that she was rejected by the man she really wanted, but now there was someone called A who seemed to know everything about her. They didn't seem friendly either. It turned out she wasn't the only one receiving texts from A. Emily, Spencer and Hanna all got texts too. Emily and Spencer were both back from their respective colleges and they had met at The Brew to figure things out. It had been exactly 2 weeks since she last talked to Ezra.

"Do you think it's Allison?" Aria asked as she looked at her friends.

Spencer took a sip from her latte, placed it down and had a very serious look on her face.

"I thought it was Allison too. I mean she was the only one who knew about that kiss between Ian and I.."

"Somebody knew about my conversation with Ezra.. does that mean Allison is here? Watching us?" Aria asked.

"My texts have been about my weight. You know how Alli loved talking about that.."

Emily looked uncomfortable. The three girls looked at her intently.

"What did she say to you, Em?  
"I don't want to talk about it."

"Em, I told everyone that I kissed my sister's guy. You have to tell us what A has on you."  
"You kissed Ian. Alli kissed me."

The three girls tried to suppress their shock.

"I'm going to look into this more, but don't tell anybody till we figure out what's going on. If Alli is still out there, we need to find out why she isn't coming back." Spencer said, taking the leader position and being Nancy Drew.

Aria hoped this was all some big joke that was being played on them. Didn't she have enough to deal with?

Aria pulled up into the driveway of the Montgomery house. She stayed in the car for a bit and looked at the garage door that was staring at her. Her life had been peaceful in Iceland and now it all felt like a movie. She pulled the keys out of the ignition, opened the door and slammed it shut. She noticed Ezra standing by his mail box. He was looking at the envelopes in his hand. Against better judgement, she found herself walking over to him.

"So about what happened.." she started to say.

Ezra looked up and was surprised to see her. He didn't like how she walked away from him because it reminded him all too well of what Jackie had done. He was mad at her even though he knew he was the one pushing her away. He looked at her indifferently.

"It's fine." He said as he closed his mailbox and started to walk towards his house.

"Ezra, wait.." Aria called out.

He should have kept walking, but instead he found himself stopping and turning around to face her.

"Yes?"

"Maybe we should hang out when you're not busy?" She asked sounding so hopeful it almost cut through him.

"Aria, I'm not looking for a relationship, but we can have a... friendship. Just so we're clear about that," he said finding it hard to articulate his sentence because he knew this wasn't what he wanted.

Aria looked up at him and he wasn't sure what she would do. Maybe she would yell at him again?

"Oh that's okay Ezra. I mean that's all it was right? We probably shouldn't have kissed, but being friends with you is what I really want," she said casually.

She was agreeing with him, but he wanted her to disagree. He narrowed his eyes at her. "Okay, well when I'm here maybe we can .. hang out. " He said not sounding very convincing.

Aria kept her strong facade up until her back was to Ezra and she felt tears sting her eyes. He broke her heart in a blink of an eye. He was just so casual about it. It was all business like. Like this is how it is Aria, deal with it. Nobody had ever made her feel this way. She had trusted him. Couldn't he have decided that he didn't want a relationship before he invited her in? Before he had kissed her like she had never been kissed before?

She opened the front door, shut it behind her and tried to regain her composure. Ella walked to the foyer. "Aria, what happened? I saw you talking to Ezra"

"We're just going to be .. friends." She said feeling humiliated to admit that to her mother. Why did she even tell her mother as much as she did?

"At least you worked that out." Ella said casually as she walked into the kitchen.

Aria didn't feel like she worked anything out. Ezra had completely shut her out and there wasn't anything she could do about it.

A few weeks later, Allison's remains were found. It was a Saturday and it seemed like all the residents in Rosewood came out for Allison's memorial service. It meant that Alli was truly gone. It also meant that they had no idea who "A" was, or if one of them was going to be next. Aria stood on the top of the staircase of the church and looked out the window. She was wearing a black dress paired with black tights and her brown hair was pin straight. There was always hope that Alli would come back one day, but now that hope was gone.

"Was she a friend of yours?" Aria heard a familiar male voice ask.

She turned her head slightly to see Ezra standing next to her .He looked older in his black suit, but just as breathtaking as ever. She hated the fact that she could still be attracted to him after the way he had treated her.

"Do you care?" She asked while trying not to turn around fully to look at him.

"I don't know what I feel worse about. Having to stay away from you, or being a jerk about it."

She fully turned around and took a step towards him. He was starting to sound like the Ezra she fell for.

She looked at him directly in the eyes. "Yeah she was one of my best friend's."

Ezra looked back into her eyes. "I'm sorry"

"For Allison, or for being a jerk?"

"Both"

"Well thank you.." The two of them locked eyes with each other. Aria knew she had to play this right, "I'm sorry for making it seem like I wanted something you didn't.. " She moved closer and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Goodbye Ezra."

With that she walked past him. All of a sudden she felt him spin her around by the arm and her lips were suddenly met by his hungry kisses. She kissed him back passionately and placed her small hand on his neck while her other hand grabbed onto his back. It felt like a sad kiss because neither knew when they would get to kiss the other again. Aria pulled away reluctantly and looked into Ezra's confused looking blue eyes. She stayed like that for a few seconds before smoothing out his hair with her hand. She affectionately stoked the side of his face as the two of them untangled themselves from each other. Without another word the petite, brunette walked away from the man she knew she could never forget, but the one she could never have.


End file.
